By: Campbell S.B. No. 963
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the Comal Trinity Groundwater
  Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds;
  providing authority to impose assessments, fees, or surcharges.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8875 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 8875.  COMAL TRINITY GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
  SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
         Sec. 8875.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Board" means the board of directors of the
  district.
               (2)  "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality.
               (3)  "Commissioners court" means the Comal County
  Commissioners Court.
               (4)  "Director" means a member of the board.
               (5)  "District" means the Comal Trinity Groundwater
  Conservation District.
               (6)  "Retail public utility" means a retail public
  utility as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, that is providing
  service in the district.
         Sec. 8875.002.  NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
  groundwater conservation district in Comal County created under and
  essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI,
  Texas Constitution.
         Sec. 8875.003.  INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial
  boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of
  Comal County, Texas, except that the district does not include any
  territory that is included in the boundaries of the Trinity Glen
  Rose Groundwater Conservation District.
         Sec. 8875.004.  CONFLICTS OF LAW. This chapter prevails
  over any provision of general law, including a provision of Chapter
  36, Water Code, that is in conflict or is inconsistent with this
  chapter.
  SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
         Sec. 8875.051.  COMPOSITION OF BOARD.   The district is
  governed by a board of seven appointed directors.
         Sec. 8875.052.  TERMS AND APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS.
  (a)  Directors serve staggered four-year terms. Directors are
  appointed by the commissioners court as follows:
               (1)  three directors shall be appointed from the
  incorporated areas of Comal County; and
               (2)  four directors shall be appointed with one
  director appointed from each of the four commissioners court
  precincts.
         (b)  To be appointed under this section, a person:
               (1)  must be a registered voter of Comal County; and
               (2)  to the extent practicable, should be familiar with
  the use of water by industry and commerce, municipal and rural
  utilities, agriculture, and private wells.
         Sec. 8875.053.  VACANCIES. If there is a vacancy on the
  board, the commissioners court shall appoint a person to fill the
  vacancy for the remainder of the term in a manner that meets the
  representational requirements of Section 8875.052.
  SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
         Sec. 8875.101.  GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS
  AND DUTIES. The district has the rights, powers, privileges,
  functions, and duties provided by the general law of this state,
  including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to groundwater
  conservation districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
  Constitution.
         Sec. 8875.102.  CONTRACTS. The district may contract with a
  state agency or political subdivision, including a municipality, a
  county, a river authority, or another district, to carry out any
  function of the district.
         Sec. 8875.103.  BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a)  The
  district may participate in the development and implementation of
  best management practices for water resource management in the
  district and may engage in and promote the acceptance of best
  management practices through education efforts sponsored by the
  district.
         (b)  Development and implementation of best management
  practices must address water quantity and quality practices such as
  brush management, prescribed grazing, recharge structures, water
  and silt detention and retention structures, plugging of abandoned
  wells, rainwater harvesting, and other treatment measures for the
  conservation of water resources.
         (c)  The district may not adopt or implement a best
  management practice that is in conflict with or duplicative of a
  best management practice adopted by another groundwater
  conservation district whose territory covers any part of Comal
  County.
         Sec. 8875.104.  LIMITATIONS ON DISTRICT POWERS. (a)  The
  district may not:
               (1)  require the owner of a well exempt from permitting
  to install a meter or measuring device on the well; or
               (2)  assess and collect a production fee on wells
  exempt from permitting.
         (b)  The district does not have the authority granted by
  Sections 36.020 and 36.201-36.204, Water Code, relating to taxes.
         Sec. 8875.105.  PRODUCTION LIMITS AND PERMITS FOR CERTAIN
  WELLS. (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Maximum production capacity" means the rated
  capacity of a well that is measured in gallons per minute of
  production as certified by the driller of the well or a professional
  geologist or engineer at the time the well was initially
  constructed or placed into service.
               (2)  "Trinity Aquifer" means the Trinity group of
  aquifers, including the:
                     (A)  Upper Trinity, consisting of the Upper Glen
  Rose Limestone;
                     (B)  Middle Trinity, consisting of the Lower Glen
  Rose Limestone, the Hensell Sand, and the Cow Creek Limestone; and
                     (C)  Lower Trinity, consisting of the Sligo
  Limestone and the Hosston Sand.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, the
  district shall issue to an applicant a permit for a well that is not
  exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or through the
  Trinity Aquifer on or before the effective date of the Act enacting
  this chapter that authorizes the production of the well at an amount
  not less than the maximum production capacity of the well.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, a well
  that is not exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or
  through the Trinity Aquifer after the effective date of the Act
  enacting this chapter requires a permit from the district.
         Sec. 8875.106.  WELL EXEMPTION. A well is exempt from the
  requirement to obtain a withdrawal permit provided that the well:
               (1)  is used solely for domestic use or for providing
  water for livestock or poultry regardless of land lot size and is
  drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is incapable of
  producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a day;
               (2)  is not capable of producing more than 10,000
  gallons of water a day; or
               (3)  is metered and does not produce more than 10
  acre-feet of water in a calendar year.
         Sec. 8875.107.  MEASURING DEVICES. (a)  The owner of a
  nonexempt well shall install and maintain a water well meter, or
  alternative measuring device or method approved by the district,
  designed to indicate the flow rate and cumulative amount of water
  withdrawn by that well, on each individual well no later than 36
  months after the effective date of the Act enacting this chapter.
         (b)  A well owner is responsible for the costs of installing,
  operating, and maintaining measuring devices.
         Sec. 8875.108.  NO EMINENT DOMAIN. The district may not
  exercise the power of eminent domain.
  SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
         Sec. 8875.151.  FEES. (a)  The district may set a
  reasonable fee for administrative management on a per well basis.
  The district may set a fee for administrative management on:
               (1)  a well used solely for domestic or livestock
  purposes in an amount not greater than $15 per well, per year; and
               (2)  a well that is exempt from permitting and that is
  not used solely for domestic or livestock purposes in an amount not
  greater than $50 per well, per year.
         (b)  The district may impose reasonable production fees on
  each well that is not exempt from permitting based on the amount of
  water actually withdrawn from the well. The district may not impose
  a production fee under this subsection in an amount greater than:
               (1)  $1 per acre-foot for groundwater used for
  agricultural purposes; or
               (2)  $40 per acre-foot for groundwater used for any
  other purpose.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than December 31, 2015, the Comal
  County Commissioners Court shall appoint the directors of the Comal
  Trinity Groundwater Conservation District as provided by Section
  8875.052, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  The legal notice of the intention to
  introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
  Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
  copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
  officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
  under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
  Government Code.
         (b)  The governor, one of the required recipients, has
  submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality.
         (c)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
  its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
  lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
  representatives within the required time.
         (d)  All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
  state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
  to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
  and accomplished.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2015.